Erika (Brooke Adams), Almost You (1985)
Some movies in my DVD collection are ones I’ve never seen. Why do I have them? Mostly they are films I’ve wanted to see but never have. Or, as in the case of Almost You, I am drawn to by the cast and/or story. I am a fan of Griffin Dunne, especially after seeing After Hours for the first time a few years ago. I also love Brooke Adams. On top of both of those leads, as I mentioned in my 200 Cigarettes post, I love a good New York City story.
This movie had a cast and setting going for it, as well as (by the description) a storyline about relationships— which, when done well, I’m also all there for. I went into this film with expectations that it would be some kind of blend of After Hours meets a Noah Baumbach/Greta Gerwig creation.
So, I popped the DVD in last night and hit play.
Almost You was directed by Adam Brooks, and written by Adam Brooks and Mike Horowitz. Glancing through Brooks’ IMDB page I came across quite a few films I love, most notably my favorite RomCom, French Kiss. Not a lot of movies on the director list though. Maybe the latter was part of this film’s problem. All I know is that I did not feel engaged at all until the dinner party scene— and the movie lost me again after.
Spoilers ahead.
So, what didn’t I like, or what didn’t engage me? First off, I didn’t believe Erika(Brooke Adams) and Alex (Griffin Dunne) were married, or that they had any connection at all. I know they are not supposed to be happy together, but I didn’t even see that. We meet them, do not know anything about them, and then Erika is hit by a car.
Okay, I think, maybe the characters will develop and I’ll engage. Nope.
Things I remember from the first part of the film? Alex is hitting on some woman in the rain, kisses her then mentions his wife is in the hospital. We see him at work making racist comments to his employees. He comes home and Erika is back— not sure how she got there though since she can’t walk well.
They hire a nurse named Lisa (Karen Young), who I can’t stop thinking “She looks so much like Shirley MacLaine in The Apartment…I’d really rather be watching The Apartment…”
Lisa and Alex, Almost You (1985)
I think we are supposed to think Erika is tiresome, bitchy, and annoying but it doesn’t come across right.
Alex thinks he’s being fired but no, he’s getting promoted. He celebrates at a bar and sees nurse Lisa there. Lisa’s live-in, actor boyfriend Kevin (Marty Watt) sees her and then shows up the next day to interview with Alex for the job Alex has been promoted from.
Following? Confusing? Yes, all of the above.
I think we are supposed to think Kevin is a bad boyfriend, flaky, and other awful things but I don’t see it. I actually find him one of the few interesting characters in the film and wish there’d been more to him.
Kevin pretends to befriend Alex and shows up at a dinner party. This next scene is the only thing I enjoyed in the movie. At all. The night of the party reminded me a bit of The Big Chill and The Anniversary Party (the latter, one of my all-time favorites).
There’s not much else to the movie except for a few tiresome scenes and an ending I wanted to throw something at. I still love films set in New York City, and I still love Griffin and Brooke— but I will never watch this again.
In summary, Erika deserved better. Maybe she and Kevin-the-actor can take run off together, or something.